Riley’s POV The vibration of my phone cut through the silence of my apartment. For a moment, I almost ignored it. Lately, every notification felt like a sharp knife pressing against my throat— everything reminded me of the chaos, the accusations and the way Jax had looked at me like I was a stranger who had betrayed him, but then my eyes caught the name on the screen.Caleb. My chest tightened, my thumb hovered over the message icon far longer than it should have. I already knew that if Caleb was reaching out, it had something to do with Jax. And just the thought of him, of his voice, his touch, made my throat ache.After hovering my fingers on the screen for several seconds, I swiped the icon and opened the message thread. My eyes skimmed as I read: “Hey Riley, I do hope you’re good. I wanted to butt in and tell you that Jax really thought you wrote the expose. He’s an ass for not giving you a chance to explain yourself, but he misunderstood everything. He misses you, and I know yo
Two months later Jax’s POVThe ball hit the clay hard, the echo snapping through the night. My grip tightened around the racket as I shifted my stance, rolling my shoulders to ease the stiffness out. Too long. It had been too damn long since I picked this thing up with purpose.Across the court, Caleb bounced another ball lazily against the ground, a smirk tugging at his lips. “Look at you,” he said, tossing it high and sending it sailing over. “You’ve finally woken up from the dead.”I swung hard and my muscles protested, but it was the good kind of ache. The kind I’d missed. “Don’t get ahead of yourself,” I muttered. “I’m just rusty.”“You’re more than rusty,” Caleb teased, darting forward to return the ball. “You’re tragic. Like watching a king crawl back onto his throne after a nasty fall.”I lunged, returning his shot with a backhand that cracked across the court. “Better watch your mouth, or I’ll make you regret showing up.”He laughed, sweat already gleaming along his temple.
Riley’s PovThe streetlights buzzed faintly as I walked up the cracked pavement toward my building. I hadn’t answered Jax’s calls all day. I couldn’t, nor after everything he had said to me, and definitely not after the humiliation of realizing that the person who’d twisted the knife in my back wasn’t some stranger—but my own damn sister.All I wanted was to enter my apartment, close the door, and let silence be my shield.“Hey, sis!”My head jerked up to see Vanessa standing at the corner of the building, waving like we had spoken few days ago and nothing had happened. She started running toward me with her arms spread wide and a smile plastered across her face as if she expected me to melt into her embrace.My body froze for a split second. Then the anger I’d been bottling up inside my chest boiled over.The moment she got close, I raised my hand and slapped her. She stumbled back, her eyes widened as a red mark started blooming across her cheek. “R-Riley?” she stammered, clutching
Jax’s POVThe television murmured in the corner, replaying the same headline for the thousandth time since we’d gotten back. “Billionaire Jax Maddox Splits with Riley.” A grainy shot of her walking out of the building with her chin high and her mouth pressed in that stubborn way she did when she refused to break. God, I’d memorized every line of that face, and now it was plastered across every screen in the city. I turned the volume up just to torture myself.“She knew exactly what she was doing,” I muttered into the glass. “She chose the money over me.”The door clicked behind me and Elias walked in. “What the hell do you want?” My voice cracked. “Haven’t you done enough?”“I came to set the record straight,” he said, his voice low but even. “You need to hear the truth before you burn everything to the ground.”I laughed, sharp and humorless. “Truth? That word doesn’t sit well in your mouth.”“I understand, but I think it’s important that you hear it.“I turned to face him, my glas
Jax’s POVI killed the headlights and every muscle in my body tensed, my heartbeat thudding so hard I was sure the others could hear it.Leo leaned forward, eyes scanning the map on his laptop. “He’s stopping here. Two blocks from our current position,” he murmured. “There are no signs of snipers outside yet, but this isn’t clean.”I didn’t need him to tell me twice. I already knew. If Elias was serious about what he said, then it’s obvious Dune loved to orchestrate little games, baiting people to step exactly where he wanted.Elias sat in the back, hands fidgeting with the hem of his shirt. He kept quiet, eyes on the road. I didn’t trust him anymore, but I needed him. He had the knowledge, the insight into Dune’s mind that Leo and I didn’t. He had to be here.The courier fumbled with the padlock of the warehouse, briefly glancing over his shoulder like he could sense us trailing him. With a click, the lock gave way, and he nudged the warehouse door open, stepping inside cautiously. S
Jax’s POV I hadn’t sat down once all night, just paced, back and forth, from window to my desk, from my desk back to the window. Sleep wasn’t even a possibility. Not with Elias’s confession echoing in my head.Dune had blackmailed him. Kidnapped his sister and forced his hand against me. I should’ve put a punched him in the stomach and thrown him out the second he admitted it, but the sincerity in his voice had stopped me. Now, all I wanted was to crush the bastard who’d orchestrated it all. I remembered Dune, remembered when I’d gotten scouted that blissful evening and he had looked at me like I just killed his mother. The door opened without a knock and Leo walked in, holding a laptop under his arm. He shut the door behind him, eyes finding me immediately.“Should we start tomorrow?” he asked. “Nope. Not when Dune is out there and still breathing,” I snapped, running a hand through my hair. Leo crossed to my desk, placing the laptop down. “Good. Then you’ll want to see this.”I